Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Community development Philippines'

This research explores the concept of community development among the Igorot Indigenous Peoples in Benguet, Philippines. It investigates the Igorots’ understanding of their community in relation to their culture and their interaction with the ‘modern’ world. It explores Igorot perspectives on the relevance of their culture in obtaining their ‘desired development’ within the present realities of their community. Exploring culturally and academically appropriate methods of conducting research with Indigenous populations such as the Igorot community was an important process of this study. This research reveals that Indigenous researchers undertaking research in their own communities have no ‘automatic credibility’ in navigating and utilising Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge ways (Pohlhuas 2002). Drawing from Indigenous methodologies, the research employed Indigenous research methods using Igorot traditional ways of learning. The findings of the study reveal that the Igorot understanding of community is a combination of colonial and traditional culture and values. The participants argue that although they cannot fully practice their traditional culture as their ancestors did, they still recognise its significance in their present lives. This research explores the Igorots’ coping and adapting mechanisms including the establishing of peoples organisations and informal education as ways of working in the community. Specific models of community development, that utilise the strengths of the culture are explored which confirm that cultural context and knowledge systems are an essential component in researching and working with Indigenous Peoples. By recognising and appropriately using the strengths of cultural identity, consciousness and traditional values that the Igorots have, community workers are able to provide opportunities for the people to revive their traditional communal and relational living. The Igorots demonstrate that ‘prescribed development systems’ can be of great advantage to their community when deconstructed and viewed from the ‘window of the peoples’ culture’. Most importantly, the participants in this study have shown that Indigenous Peoples’ despite being historical ‘victims’ of development have the capabilities to as ‘active contributors’ to their own and to mainstream community development.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the social, economic and other impacts of the Pilot Provincial Agricultural Extension Project (PP AEP), an Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) project in the villages of Luyong Bonbon and Pagalungan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. This study has examined the literature related to technology transfer in agriculture, the notion of appropriate technology and Australia's current development program in the Philippines. This study utilises a multiple case study of qualitative methodology. The Group Ecology Model (GEM) is utilised as a conceptual framework of this study and the process/ outcome matrix is utilised to analyse the data from a qualitative perspective. This study reveals that Australia's development assistance program in the Philippines as reflected by the success of the PP AEP, has increased agricultural productivity and enhanced the social and economic conditions of marginal farmers and fishermen in the two villages. The key to the project's success is the transfer of appropriate technology. Appropriate technology is transferred through the project's participatory approach which involves a close coordination and cooperation of all sectors of government, Rural Based Organisations (RBOs) and Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Moreover, PP AEP has increased the awareness for environmental protection in both villages and enhanced the employment of women in its activities. The strategy of participatory approach adopted by PPAEP is effective in development activities of government. Skills development is equally as important are technological and financial inputs. This study reveals that the general concerns apparent in the two villages are financial and infrastructure. The study reveals that financial constraints can be a hindrance to the project's sustainability while infrastructure problems can cause delays in development. It is suggested that project implementors continue to replicate PPAEP's participatory approach to development in its future projects. Funding constraints and infrastructure problems can be resolved through dose supervision and coordination of the governments of Australia and the Philippines in its current and future projects.

This thesis deals with two related topics: core development objectives in community forestry in the Philippines, and the 'instruments' of development practice which have been used to address these objectives. The two topics have currency beyond forestry development and are at the centre of a debate about sustainable development. Community forestry aims to democratise resource access, alleviate poverty, and ensure the sustainability of forest resources. Development practice, however, has often led to contradictory outcomes. This paradox is examined from three perspectives: that of political economy, characteristics of practice, and the theory of rationalisation. ¶Four government-initiated community forestry projects in the Philippines are analysed. These projects provide an historical trend on the development and refinements of the different techniques from the early 1980s to the present. The relationship between the use of these techniques and improved outcomes in terms of the three core concerns is established. Empirical findings from the cases suggest that there is no necessary relationship between the employment of these instruments and better development outcomes. The attempt to democratise forest resource access through the use of access instruments has benefited the local elite and reinforced the government's jurisdiction over these resources. Similarly, the use of appraisal and participatory planning techniques has homogenised views of the local community and advanced a centrally determined agenda in forest management that has worked against the alleviation of poverty. Forest degradation is likely to continue, even with the incorporation of social factors into the concept of sustained-yield forest management. ¶The political economy perspective suggests that contradictory effects can be explained by the country's historical and political structure which has been shaped by an economically-driven development model and dominated by a more privileged sector. Despite genuine efforts for reform, this perspective contends that community forestry projects and related development interventions will always be influenced by political forces, and their benefits will be captured by the privileged sector. On the other hand, a focus on the characteristics of practice leads to the conclusion that contradictory effects are results of the limitations of these techniques, including their poor application. This implies that the adverse effects may be addressed through the refinement of these techniques and improvements in their application. Finally, the rationalisation thesis reveals that paradoxical effects are inherent in the use of these techniques. This perspective posits that even with the apparent shift from a state-controlled to a more participatory and decentralised approach in forest management, such as community forestry, the instrumentalist nature associated with the application of these techniques reinforces the characteristics of homogeneity, technocracy, and centralism which are inclined to produced paradoxical outcomes. ¶Both the political economy and the rationalisation perspectives provide a gloomy prognosis for community forestry. However, the recognition of the dual problems of poverty and environmental degradation in the Philippine uplands, suggests that community forestry should not be abandoned. Through a responsive mode of practice, there is room to move to improve the outcomes of the three central objectives. But responsive practice is not a panacea for all development ills. The process is bound to be slow, strategies will vary from one place to another, and success will be patchy. But because responsive community forestry practice is not amenable to central programming and control, it is more likely to result in sustainable outcomes than the present approaches.

Thesis (Phd. Systems Agriculture) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1997.
"PhD thesis, Systems Agriculture ; the School of Agriculture and Rural Development, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury."--T.p.

The objective of study is to identify and evaluate the role of the ecotourism business in building community resilience in disaster-vulnerable areas. This dissertation analyzed how an ecotourism business is being managed and examined what contributions the ecotourism business has made to community resiliency in disaster vulnerable areas. In the process of these examination, policies in disaster management, tourism (general policies) and ecotourism in the Philippines has been reviewed. Furthermore, case studies have been examined, a community and a government managed ecotourism business. The cases were analyzed using the "Resilience Indicators for Vulnerable Communities Engaging in Ecotourism."
博士(グローバル社会研究)
Doctor of Philosophy in Global Society Studies
同志社大学
Doshisha University

This thesis is about exploring possibilities for improving the situation of a rural community in the Philippines. The philosophy. theories and assumptions underlying are discussed. This research which fulfilled its primary intent of fostering change through action also served as a verification of the value and usefulness of a Participatory Systemic Action Research. The role of participation in an emancipatory process is highlighted. The research process, following the methodological framework of Soft Systems Methodology, is described. Based upon the experience of a participative research, a critique of the Soft Systems Methodology is forwarded. The emergent outcomes of the research are also discussed
University of Western Sydney

Cette thèse propose une analyse de certaines des politiques considérées actuellement comme étant des éléments-clé de toute stratégie de développement, avec l’objectif de contribuer au récent débat sur le développement international. Je considère en particulier l’élaboration, la mise en oeuvre et l’évaluation des politiques de protection sociale, de développement participatif et d’intégration régionale. Le premier chapitre repose sur l’idée que, pour être efficaces en matière de réduction de la pauvreté, les politiques de protection sociale doivent avoir pour double objectif de permettre aux ménages pauvres d’accéder à des ressources suffisantes pour satisfaire leurs besoins de base, ainsi que de réduire le risque auquel les ménages non pauvres sont confrontés de voir leur niveau de bien-être diminuer sous le seuil de pauvreté. Je propose une méthode permettant d’estimer le degré de vulnérabilité à la pauvreté des ménages. La vulnérabilité est ici définie comme la probabilité pour un ménage de se trouver sous le seuil de pauvreté dans le futur, étant données ses caractéristiques actuelles. Dans le second chapitre, je me place dans un contexte de ciblage des programmes de protection sociale par un score approximant le niveau de vie (proxy-means testing). La précision, et donc l’efficacité, de cette approche pour identifier les ménages pauvres dépendent de la capacité à prédire avec exactitude le niveau de bien-être des ménages, laquelle découle de la sélection de variables pertinentes. Je propose une méthode basée sur l’estimation d’un échantillon aléatoire de modèles de consommation, pour identifier les variables dont la corrélation avec le bien-être des ménages est à la fois élevée et robuste. Ces variables appartiennent à différentes catégories, y compris la possession de biens durables, l’accès aux services d’énergie domestique et d’assainissement, la qualité et le statut d’occupation du logement, et le niveau d’éducation des membres du ménage. Les troisième et quatrième chapitres de cette thèse proposent une analyse ex-post des politiques de développement, et portent en particulier sur les conséquences inattendues d’un programme de développement participatif et les raisons de l’insuffisante performance de politiques d’intégration régionale, respectivement. Le troisième chapitre évalue dans quelle mesure la réaction des deux groupes rebelles présents aux Philippines face à la mise en oeuvre d’un programme participatif d’aide au développement est compatible avec l’idée que ces deux groupes ont différentes idéologies, caractéristiques et raisons pour lutter contre le gouvernement. Il utilise une base de données collectées en utilisant les reportages d’un journal local concernant les épisodes de guerre impliquant ces deux groupes, ainsi que les prédictions d’un modèle d’insurrection basé sur la recherche de rente (rent-seeking). Les résultats sont conformes à la classification proposée de ces deux groupes rebelles ; leur réaction face au projet dépend de leur position idéologique. Le dernier chapitre analyse l’impact des guerres civiles en Afrique sur la performance des communautés économiques régionales, approximée par la synchronisation des cycles économiques des différents partenaires régionaux. Les résultats montrent que la synchronisation des cycles économiques diminue avec l’occurrence de guerres civiles, non seulement pour les pays directement affectés, mais également pour leurs voisins en paix
In this thesis, I aim to contribute to the recent international development debate, by providing an analysis of some of the policies that are considered key elements of a development strategy. Focusing on social protection, community-based development and regional integration, I consider aspects related to their design, implementation and evaluation. In the first chapter, I propose a method to estimate ex ante vulnerability to poverty, defined as the probability of being poor in the near future given one’s current characteristics. This is based on the premise that effective social protection policies should aim not only to help the poor move out of poverty, but also to protect the vulnerable from falling into it. In the second chapter, I consider the issue of identifying the poor in a context of targeting social protection programs using a Proxy-Means Testing (PMT) approach, which precision, and therefore usefulness relies on the selection of indicators that produce accurate predictions of household welfare. I propose a method based on model random sampling to identify indicators that are robustly and strongly correlated with household welfare, measured by per capita consumption. These indicators span the categories of household private asset holdings, access to basic domestic energy, education level, sanitation and housing. The third and fourth chapters of this thesis provide an ex-post analysis of development policies and focus in particular on the unintended consequences of a community-driven program and on the reasons for the lack of progress in regional economic integration. The third chapter assesses whether the reaction of the two distinct rebel groups that operate in the Philippines to the implementation of a large-scale community-driven development project funded by foreign aid is consistent with the idea that these two groups have different ideologies, characteristics and motives for fighting. It is based on a unique geo-referenced dataset that we collected from local newspaper reports on the occurrence of conflict episodes involving these rebel groups, and on the predictions of a rent-seeking model of insurgency. The findings are consistent with the proposed classification of the rebel groups; the impact of the foreign aid project on each rebel group depends on their ideological stance. In the last chapter, I analyze how civil conflicts affect the economic fate of African regional economic communities through its effect on the synchronicity of regional partners’ economies. I find that conflict decreases business cycle synchronicity when it occurs within a regional economic community, both for the directly affected countries and for their more peaceful regional peers

碩士
國立成功大學
政治經濟學研究所
100
This study looks into the effectiveness of development strategies employed by the Philippine Christian Foundation (PCF) and its impacts in the lives of the slum-dwelling and scavenging residents of Smokey Mountain. A case study of PCF's involvement in Smokey Mountain was conducted through interviews with 70 individuals. Through the collective experiences of community residents and organizational members it was found out that the strategies of PCF entails various satisfaction levels from different groups of people. Furthermore, it also appears that the current strategic mechanisms of PCF could not necessarily accommodate the changing needs of the community. These conditions point out that PCF's approach in developing the community could still not be viewed as a sustainable whole because only a handful of the residents remain at an advantage. Consequently, such lack of integrated solution to the problems of the community such as lack of job opportunities and education, health issues, and environmental degradation points out the need for PCF to move toward a more effective and efficient approach toward a more sustainable community development process. The research suggests for PCF, and any other development NGO operating within Smokey Mountain to reconsider existing strategies in the light of a sustainability imperative. This may be achieved by scaling up involvements through inter-organizational cooperation and the development of community-level indicators from which new strategies could stem from in order to come up with solutions that will allow the government, NGOs, and other private individuals, and entities to work together to create a sustainable community for the residents of Smokey Mountain.

This thesis deals with two related topics: core development objectives in community forestry in the Philippines, and the 'instruments' of development practice which have been used to address these objectives. The two topics have currency beyond forestry development and are at the centre of a debate about sustainable development. Community forestry aims to democratise resource access, alleviate poverty, and ensure the sustainability of forest resources. Development practice, however, has often led to contradictory outcomes. This paradox is examined from three perspectives: that of political economy, characteristics of practice, and the theory of rationalisation. ¶ Four government-initiated community forestry projects in the Philippines are analysed. ...

This thesis explores the contested nature of power relations in community development. It draws on an ethnographic account of the Jagna Community Partnering Project (JCPP) implemented on the island province of Bohol in the Philippines to stimulate local economic development. The project applied post-development principles using participatory, strengths-based and action research approaches that built on informal economic practices to establish community enterprises. Through this process, the JCPP disrupted the hegemony of local development discourses, catalysing profound changes in the lives of project participants who moved from perceiving themselves as passive and dependent recipients of development to self-reliant and active decision-makers. This thesis examines the varied, complex and sometimes hidden ways participants exercised the power available to them in both formal and informal arenas to create alternative development pathways aligned with their own interests and agendas. Drawing attention to the multiple and often contradictory ways in which different development actors are simultaneously enabled and constrained in any given moment, this place-based analysis offers a nuanced conceptualisation of power as more dynamic than general accounts of Philippine politics often suggest. Findings raise questions about the assumption commonly held by policy makers that capitalist economic development will inevitably expand the power and influence of marginalised groups and show how informal economic practices can provide a platform for individual and collective action.

Many developing countries, rich with natural resources, have turned to tourism as a source of national growth and subsequently an increasing amount of local communities are being "developed". Despite its importance to developing countries, tourism has been covered scarcely in the literature on development studies. Local communities that find themselves in a situation having to deal with tourism related development, face many challenges. Contrary to previous work on development which considered poor local communities a threat to the natural environment, current views emphasise the role of the community in bringing about participation, conservation and consequently Sustainable Development. Therefore, if tourism can be seen as a possible path to Sustainable Development, the role of the local community in its development is of vital importance. This research investigates the role of the local community in integrating conservation in tourism related development by means of a case study on Apo Island.
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
MA(SS)(DEV. STUD)